JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION RESOLVE CHARGES THAT THE ABA'S PROCESS FOR ACCREDITING LAW SCHOOLS WAS MISUSED

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice and theAmerican Bar Association today resolved charges that the ABAprocess for accrediting law schools had been misused to inflatefaculty salaries and benefits. The Antitrust Division filed a civil lawsuit and settlementin U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that the ABAused its power as the law school accrediting agency to protectlaw faculties' economic interests and working conditions. Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge ofthe Antitrust Division, said, "The ABA's accreditation processrequired that universities raise salaries to artificially-inflated levels, and meet other costly accreditation requirementsthat had little to do with the quality of the legal educationthey provided. The settlement reached today stops thisanticompetitive conduct." Under today's proposed settlement, the ABA would beprohibited from: * Fixing faculty salaries; * Refusing to accredit schools simply because they are for-profit; and * Refusing to allow ABA-approved law schools to acceptcredits for classes at schools that are state-accredited but not ABA-approved. The settlement also: * Establishes a special committee to determine if ABAaccreditation requirements in six other areas should be revised--student to faculty ratios, teaching loads, sabbaticals, barpreparation courses, facilities, and other resources. * Opens up the ABA accreditation process so that it is nolonger controlled by legal faculty who benefit from requiringbetter pay and working conditions. "The powerful status of the ABA does not insulate it fromthe antitrust laws," said Bingaman. "The Antitrust Division hassued many professional trade associations, which, like the ABA,have violated the antitrust laws. Lawyers must keep their ownhouse in order as well." The complaint charges that the ABA's accreditation processhad the effect of pressuring law schools to raise salaries to thenational or regional median. The Department said by pressuringschools to pay the median salary, the ABA kept raising the targetthat schools had to meet. About 90 percent of the ABA's Section of Legal Educationmembers are law faculty. The section is responsible for the lawschool accreditation program, which has operated without adequateoversight. The complaint alleges that the lack of oversight hasled to abuses in the accreditation process, leading to an unduefocus on guild concerns rather than quality education. Through the process established by the consent decree, theABA will work in the months ahead to revise its accreditationstandards to address the problems identified in the government'scomplaint. Bingaman said, "We are pleased that the ABA has actedpromptly and responsibly to address these issues, so that itsimportant role in accrediting the nation's law schools can beperformed appropriately and effectively." The ABA, which is headquartered in Chicago, is the world'slargest professional association for lawyers. There arecurrently 177 ABA-approved law schools. To become effective, the consent decree must be approved bythe court following a 60-day comment period as required by theAntitrust Procedures and Penalties Act. If the consent decree isapproved by the court, it will settle the suit.

I'm sure your law professors use this language...I don't even know what that means.

uh hunh. I'm arguing with a teenager who has a life experience of....nil.

Bye.

1. The claim that 'law professors don't use that language' is almost as bad as the ones you made against ABA schools. What people type on a message board does not correlate to the language they use in law school. You were pwn3d, and you are a TTT. I'll try really hard not to include those terms in my next memo.

2. Even assuming your 'no life experience' ad hom was true, it doesn't answer the fact that dgatl and DOWNY will have better jobs than you and will be making more money, regardless of what TTT experiences you think you have.

"I worked for the court for a while and 3 times I saw "correspondence schools takers" kick the ass of one Boalt Hall lawyers practicing for almost 10 years, one Golden Gate lawyer practicing for almost 3 years and one other lawschool I can't remember except it was ABA."

Your exceptionally valid evidence has opened my eyes! What was I thinking going to Boalt?! What a TTT! I shall immediately gather the necessary materials and transfer into a distance learning program, thereby significantly increasing my chances of placement at Skadden, MoFo, and Wachtell.

I have been decieved! We have ALL been decieved! Save yourselves from your ABA-accredited degrees while you still can, especially those of you who go to Yale -- you need all the help you can get!

1. Go to ABA if you can afford the tuition/qualify for financial aid/have the spare time2. If you can't go ABA go non-ABA brick and mortar3. If neither 1 & 2 are possible, distance learning JDs are a valid OPTION, as evidenced by the many successful DL lawyers as presented on my blog

"1. Don't act like a religious fanatic or an escaped Taliban commando the next time you advocate DL- it will only make you look crazy, and will hurt your credibility."

Still advocating DL, still feeling good about it. See my previous post in this thread. Actually reading the post before you respond will save you embarassment in the future.

Buh-bye.

Your post is not at all responsive to anything I have said. I did not take issue with your support of DL, only with your methods of doing so. The fact that your last post could have been written by a reasonable individual does not negate the raving madness of your other posts, as well as your blog.

Second, your TTT mind is incapable of embarrassing me. However, learning to spell might save you from future embarrassment.